1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a tool that facilitates paying out a cable from a spool or drum while the cable is installed at a user's premises.
2. Discussion of the Known Art
Installations of fiber optic cabling at a user's premises typically required winding a predetermined length of cable on a reel, and then pulling a free end of the cable off of the reel and down a riser shaft. The free end of the cable is then terminated in a building entrance box for connection with an outside cable from a service provider. It will be understood that such a procedure normally requires at least two technicians or installers, that is, one person to hold the reel as the cable is unwound, and another person to pull the cable down the shaft.
Commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/880,169 ('169 application) filed Jan. 13, 2007, and U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/728,785 ('785 application) filed Mar. 27, 2007, disclose a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) entrance or “drop” box wherein a fiber optic cable may be prewound about a spool or drum region of the box. The drop box also features an integral tube having a passage whose axis coincides with that of the drum region. Thus, an installer may insert a screwdriver or other elongate tool in the tube passage and, while holding the tool in one hand, use the other hand to pull the cable off of the drum region while the drop box pivots freely on the tool. All relevant portions of the mentioned '169 and '785 applications are incorporated by reference.
Whether the cable is prewound on the above mentioned drop box or on a separate spool or drum, installers typically must pull the cable around corners or between floors at the user's premises. Routing the cable away from the location of the drop box or spool therefore requires at least two persons so as to avoid undesirable bending or breaking of the cable or its fibers, i.e., one person to hold the box or spool in place as the cable unwinds, and one or more other persons to pull and route the cable carefully over a desired path at the premises. The typical installation process is therefore time consuming and labor intensive.
Accordingly, there is a need for a tool that enables a single installer to unwind a fiber optic cable easily from a spool or drop box at a user's premises, and to route the cable over a desired path away from the location of the spool or box without damaging the cable or the fibers it contains.